


Requite

by ghee (sabakunoghee)



Category: Just Friends (Webcomic)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22174537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabakunoghee/pseuds/ghee
Summary: When he held Aaron’s hand, it almost felt likehome.or,FiveshitsBagas said (but he didn't mean it) and onehonestyBagas asked (but Aaron didn't quite catch it).
Relationships: Bagas/Aaron
Comments: 12
Kudos: 124





	Requite

**Author's Note:**

> WHAT HAVE I DONE.  
> Un-betaed because we love to live dangerously. Just Friends by clnov/ciel.

**05**

“Menurut artikel, kalo sahabatan lebih dari tujuh tahun, nanti bakal bertahan selamanya.”

When Bagas blurted it out, Aaron silently judged him, as if he just listened to the most epic bullshit ever. Being honest, Aaron was a fan of sentimentality – he treasured memories and the mementos, he had a tin can filled with movie tickets he saw with Bagas; you know, those cute things – but, hearing such words from an uncultured swine like Bagas made him almost threw up. The bigger guy was violently munching his lunch, as brutal as a wild beast who was never touched by proper civilization, and sweet Lord, how could he romanticize the term of friendship while doing the blasphemy toward food at the same time.

Aaron didn’t verbally reply. His eyes, sharply pierced Bagas through his stupid grin, spoke louder than words. The smaller guy decided to continue his delayed activity; grabbed his pencil and wrote some formulas on his paper. His homework wouldn’t finish itself and life was too short to deal with Bagas’ flowery speech.

Well,

Perhaps, Aaron was just – _running away_ , for he already knew that the concept of ‘forever’ was a mere utopia. He had been knowing Bagas for almost eleven years, now, and Aaron had accepted the probability of Bagas leaving him for having a serious relationship with a girl. Ha, as if ‘leaving’ fitted their condition.

Bagas never belonged to him, to begin with.

No matter how much Bagas loved both of their friendship and Aaron himself, he was still the straightest individual Aaron had ever known. Bagas was way too dumb to process complicated things such as feelings. Thus, Aaron understood, that this delicate thing he had for Bagas was, and would always be, _unrequited_.

“—kita jadi digosipin orang-orang, bego.”

For him, denying is a lot easier than getting his hopes up.

**04**

“Coba aja kamu cewek, aing nggak susah cari pacar”

Aaron never thought about gender identity issue, until today.

He was born a boy; he was raised as a man. He took the ‘male-role’ in the household: he climbed the top of his house to fix the broken roof, he stayed awake until midnight waiting for his mother came home from an extra shift. He quite enjoyed living his life as a guy and being one, the girls confused him.

Baby hated him to her core for being with Bagas almost 24/7. Mila treated him badly once Bagas rejected her invitation to her birthday party. And even though Kak Angel didn’t send him a voodoo (or, _not yet_ ), Aaron knew something terribly bad would happen to him – Bagas literally left their relationship for the sake of visiting Aaron who was hospitalized. Being a girl must be hard and complicated, Aaron thought.

While enjoying his junk food, Aaron stared at Bagas deeply.

His barbaric friend was talking about how ideal their friendship was, how much he treasured Aaron and the connection they built for the last decade. Bagas was always his ray of light, his brightest sun; Bagas was stupid and all, but he was the only person who could lit his world no one ever could. Aaron wouldn’t admit it with his own mouth, though, but having Bagas here when he was sick gave him this ridiculous sense of superiority – that he was more important than those girls. (And what if he was born a female? Would Bagas still treat him like this? Or they would never cross each other’s path?) Aaron bit his lips.

No, he would never trade his warmth with anything – it was okay to be beside him as a man.

 _I’m sorry, ladies; I win_.

“Memang kalau aku cewek, aku mau sama kamu?”

Aaron was an expert in lying and concealing his emotions.

**03**

“Sepertinya kamu dan aku cocok bersanding di pelaminan.”

This was totally embarrassing, and Aaron knew he was supposed to reject the idea – but he surrendered, nevertheless. Aaron was forced to sit with both limbs tied. They pulled his hair and cleared his face.

The tingling sensation when the cooling primer touched his delicate skin. The ticklish feeling as the fake eyelashes were glued on his lids. Aaron was familiar with skincare and concealer but having a full-faced makeover was a whole different story. The corset he wore almost broke his spine and the long, gaudy gown restrained him to run. Heck, even walking was torture in this stupid princess dress. But once he glanced at the mirror and found himself like _this_ startled him. Aaron knew that he was good looking; being born with an androgynous face and slender figure. But – _damn_ , he was exceptionally beautiful as a woman.

And knowing that pig, Bagas must’ve approached him and perhaps asked for his number,

…or, proposed him on the spot.

Aaron seriously wanted to play along. He was borderline curious and excited to know how Bagas would react if he teased him back. Bagas was always a simple man. Tricking him was beyond easy but – _no_ , Aaron decided not to. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to, but he _couldn’t,_ because he knew Bagas way too well.

His friend was genuinely stupid but never held grudge. The worst thing Bagas would do once he knew he was being played with, well, perhaps sulking on the corner, he then laughed and things would be normal in a split second. Aaron was quite the opposite. His heart was frail and he might fall in his own trap.

“Dengan senang hati, lamaran ditolak.”

So, he told him the truth; _enjoying_ the small victory for temporarily being _his_ woman.

**02**

“Ron, kamu sayang sama aku, kan?”

Aaron was the one who fell _first_ , and he fell _hard_.

He thought the realization would fit the description in the teen-lit novel – heart fluttering like crazy, lungs couldn’t cope with the amount of oxygen inhaled, butterflies flying in his stomach. The fact was… there were no sparks at all. But _something_ inside him melted and it felt warm. It was a gentle, delicate feeling.

Deep down, Aaron knew; he admitted it since the first time his mother acknowledged that their friendship gradually bloomed into something else. The connection itself stayed pure and innocent, but the way Aaron looked at Bagas wasn’t a gaze from a mere friend. (And there was no way a son could like to his mother! The woman who carried him for nine months, raised him for seventeen years – she learned the truth just by looking at his eyes.) One day, Aaron stared at his own expression, reflected on his mother's worried eyes, and there, he found his own instability. He retreated, that day. Couldn’t help to see himself being so weak and fragile.

And, come sacrifices,

Aaron helped and shielded Bagas from the side effects of his own stupidities more than a million times. He picked the asshole first thing in the morning, he helped him with studies – he even protected him from the sudden inspection done by their teacher. Sometimes, when the feeling went too intense and he found it hard to contain, Aaron would make some space. It didn’t last long, though, because Bagas never failed to bring Aaron close, _closer_ , it almost seemed like he possessed gravity and forced Aaron to rotate around him. Bagas was clueless, but unquestionably powerful, for using the same words over and over again.

Every time Bagas pleaded, it was impossible for Aaron to say ‘no’.

“Jangan bikin orang salah paham, Gas!”

Bagas was a spell, and Aaron was willing to be cursed.

**01**

“Iya, ah, galak banget, kayak nggak pernah liat.”

Bagas was the one who appeared in Aaron’s first lewd dream.

It was true that his friend wasn’t athletic and visually appealing – _his face was extraordinarily handsome but his body was out of the question_ – but, Aaron didn’t know. Aaron had seen him naked countless times since they were kids and things weren’t very different as they grew up together. Bagas didn’t understand the concept of personal space. He would trespass Aaron’s bubble space every time he felt like it; he loved to randomly cuddle his friend, sharing a blanket, with a laptop on his lap, binge-watching their favorite TV series all night long. Or roaming around Aaron’s room with his big belly exposed after a nice, warm bath.

Their level of physical intimacy was beyond dangerous and Aaron knew something was terribly wrong. He couldn’t reject Bagas’ warm affection, though, but he felt… _guilty_ , for enjoying his friendly touch as a thing he considered romantic. No, it was _worse_. Aaron struggled to hide the fact that Bagas turned him on.

(That day, Bagas was soaked and all—)

The rain poured heavily outside and his mother wasn’t home. Bagas was two feet away from him, stripping himself, his hair was wet and the dark strands framed his strong jaw. The water flow along the curves of his face, dripped from his chin, fell to the floor. Aaron gulped hard – he shouldn’t feel like this for Bagas. His cheeks were burning and his heart was nearly exploding. A part of him wanted to push Bagas’ shoulder down, tackled him so he would fall to the floor, kissed him hard and slow until they’re out of breath. Aaron almost punched his own face for fantasizing his own _friend_ this hard and went to the bathroom, alone.

“LIAT APAAN!”

He shouted angrily, but his heart screamed like crazy.

**00**

“Yuk, Ron, ke sana!”

And Bagas – he just didn’t want to lose a best friend.

Yes, he was too oblivious to understand ‘love’, but he never took Aaron for granted, the one who never left his side. Aaron was always around and Bagas got so used by his presence to the point he didn’t find a need to look for another. Even though he _tried_ to give Beby a chance, he ended up taking her to a place Aaron wanted – the festival. It was already dark and the girl he had a date with told him that she was tired. Bagas dragged Aaron to look around without even thinking twice. He left Beby behind and was instantly absorbed by the festivity. He took Aaron to eat street snacks together and queuing for some various rides.

The fact that he was more comfortable spending time with Aaron made Bagas realized that he looked at ‘love’ itself every time his eyes found Aaron. He felt it. He knew. He just didn’t know what it was. Bagas smiled and laughed a lot that night. Aaron scolded him for being too dumb and reckless but he followed him no matter what. The crowd was getting restless as the fireworks party was about to get started.

Bagas told him that it was already eleven o’clock and asked him to go home. Aaron agreed with a simple reply and tried to catch up. His friend was a little bit taller and had a wider chest – it was easy for Bagas to break through the massive horde of people. But for a slender guy like him, things could be tough. Bagas noticed how far Aaron was from him, and before his brain could analyze the potential result, he grabbed Aaron by the hand, entwining their fingers together. Aaron gasped. But he didn’t object. His head was facing down and obediently trailed Bagas without any further words. Bagas didn’t let him go, because—

When he held Aaron’s hand, it almost felt like _home_. He chose Aaron. He always _did_. He always _had_.

“Jangan tarik-tarik!”

(They were _just friends_ , after all.)

**Author's Note:**

> verb  
> re·quite | \ ri-ˈkwīt \  
> 1a: to make a return for: REPAY


End file.
